Our second annual South Clinton Goes Batty event was bigger and better than last year. The purpose of the event is to highlight our businesses and provide fun and entertainment for families. It's a costume optional event, which makes for a pretty eclectic looking crowd.

This year, we set up home base in the middle of the commercial district at 846 South Clinton Avenue. We had a stage and entertainment by Nativity Prep students and dancers from MGOS.

Mayor Lovely Warren joined us and introduced the #shoptheROC, a new city-wide campaign aimed at supporting local businesses. The program has incentives for Rochester businesses including design services, printing and social media outreach. Mayor Warren encouraged businesses to sign up for the program and shoppers to post photos of city businesses using #ShopTheROC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

After visiting with the mayor, we ate pizza (donated by Salvatore's), cider and donuts (donated by the South Clinton Merchants Association), and apples (donated by the Good Food Collective).Then we checked out our friends playing Jenga with Rec on the Move. My kids hit the bounce house, and climbed through the fire safety trailer. They each took a pony ride. And we also visited with our favorite Rochester Police Department horse, Comet.

Children under 12 who visited each of the six businesses received free admission to the Cinema Theater's 4:00PM showing of Hotel Transylvania. My son lost his passport twice, but we ended up finding it in time for the movie. And that was a great way to end the day.

Big big big kudos to Jen Topa, who organized the event again on a shoestring budget. And to Bill Schwappacher, from the City of Rochester Communications Bureau, who invited the Mayor, designed our poster and the passports, helped with social media and press releases. Here they are enjoying themselves.

This is what planning nerds talk about at lunch. I ate alone today, so I'm posting to the blog. Here are my top five favorite public engagement tools, in no particular order.

​1. This A-frame sign

I've wanted one of these beauties since I saw a Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) public meeting A-frame sign in Buffalo in 2013. It draws people into meetings. It also helps meeting attendees find their way to a certain entrance to a building or to the right room. You may notice the sign is also a shameless promotion for our firm. Dual purpose.

2. 3M paper products

In the olden days, we had to use tape to display paper notes on the wall. And it was tricky. Not anymore. The paper goes right from the easel to the wall. Both the large easel paper AND the sticky notes are included in this category. I used to use sticky notes primarily to remind me of things at my desk. Now I don't leave for a facilitation session without a pack.

3. Roll of brown paper

Draws the kids in. Every. Single. Time. I like to ask them to draw a picture of what they'd like to see in their town, village or city.

4. Textizen

We are all fans of the survey, because it reaches people who can't attend or aren't interested in attending a meeting. But email surveys are easily overlooked. Textizen makes it easier to reach people using the technology they use most: their cell phone.

5. Maps

Tried and true. They help people orient themselves. They give people new perspective. They help them make connections. I always see the world differently after I've studied a map.